Login
Fauci Stripped of Government Security Protection
President Trump canceled Dr. Anthony S. Fauci’s government-financed security protection on Thursday night. The move made Fauci, who received death threats during the coronavirus pandemic, the latest prominent former official to lose his security detail since Trump returned to the White House.
“You can’t have it forever,” Trump said on a trip to North Carolina on Friday.
A person familiar with the situation said Fauci, who retired from government service in December 2022, has hired his own security detail.
Fauci, one of the nation’s top health officials for decades and a former director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases became a frequent target of conservative critics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci’s chief critic on Capitol Hill, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, had publicly called for his security arrangement to be withdrawn.
On Thursday, Paul wrote on social media that he had “sent supporting information to end the 24 hr a day limo and security detail for Fauci,” adding, “I wish him nothing but peace but he needs to pay for his own limos.”
Pediatricians Try New Tactics to Win Over Vaccine Skeptics
In pediatricians’ offices across the country, doctors are increasingly confronting concerns from parents about vaccines that for decades have protected children from serious and sometimes deadly diseases.
Vaccine hesitancy is nothing new. But physicians say this skepticism has gained new momentum in recent years as vaccine misinformation has become widespread on social media, and as more Americans have become distrustful of the medical establishment.
The New York Times spoke to pediatricians across the country who said they were looking for better ways to address these concerns and, ultimately, get more children vaccinated.
Some have focused on explaining the immediate risks of foregoing specific vaccines, or have started sharing nongovernment resources that parents may be more likely to trust. Others are now scheduling additional appointments in their already-crammed days in order to continue these difficult conversations.
Child Deaths in England Rising Above Pre-pandemic Levels, Study Finds
Child deaths in England have risen to new levels after a temporary fall during the COVID-19 pandemic, a study has found. The study, published in the PLOS Medicine journal, shows children were less likely to die between April 2020 and March 2021, a period when lockdowns were in place, than at any time before or since. There were 377 fewer deaths than expected from the previous 12-month period.
However, while the number of deaths in the following year, 2021-22, was similar to before the pandemic, in 2022-23, there were 258 more deaths than expected from 2020-21 period, researchers at the University of Bristol found using the National Child Mortality Database.
The study also found that the relative rate of dying for children from non-white backgrounds, compared with white children, was now higher than before or during the pandemic.
Increased Toxicity Risk Identified For Children With Autism, ADHD
The number of people being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has risen sharply in recent decades, and research continues to look at factors involved in these conditions. A study published in 2023 revealed there’s a difference in how children with autism or ADHD clear the common plastic additive bisphenol A (BPA), compared to neurotypical children.
BPA is used in a lot of plastics and plastic production processes, and can also be found inside food and drink cans. However, previous research has also linked it to health issues involving hormone disruption, including breast cancer and infertility.
Researchers from Rowan University and Rutgers University in the US looked at three groups of children: 66 with autism, 46 with ADHD, and 37 neurotypical kids. In particular, they analyzed the process of glucuronidation, a chemical process the body uses to clear out toxins within the blood through urine.
They found that kids with ASD and ADHD couldn’t clear out BPA and another similar compound called diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) with as much efficiency as other kids, potentially leading to longer exposure to their toxic effects. “Detoxification of these two plasticizers is compromised in children with ASD and ADHD,” wrote the researchers in their published paper. “Consequently, their tissues are more exposed to these two plasticizers.”
People With ADHD Have Shorter Life Expectancy and Higher Risk of Mental Health Issues, Study Finds
Having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD is associated with a shorter life expectancy and a greater risk of mental health issues, according to a new study of more than 30,000 people with the disorder in the United Kingdom.
Men diagnosed with ADHD had a reduction in life expectancy by 4 ½ years to nine years, while women’s life expectancy was shortened by 6 ½ years to 11 years, according to the study published Thursday in The British Journal of Psychiatry.
“Although many people with ADHD live long and healthy lives, our finding that on average they are living shorter lives than they should indicates unmet support needs,” said lead study author Dr. Liz O’Nions, honorary research fellow in clinical, education and health psychology at University College London, in a news release. “It is crucial that we find out the reasons behind premature deaths so we can develop strategies to prevent these in the future.”
‘Significant’ Rise in Children Being Admitted to Acute Hospital Wards for Mental Health Issues, Says Study
Acute hospital wards are facing “real challenges,” as a study showed the number of children being admitted due to mental health concerns has gone up by two-thirds in 10 years. The research, led by a team from University College London, looked at data on all admissions for five to 18-year-olds to general acute medical wards in England from 2012 to 2022. These wards assess and treat patients and are separate from specialist mental health wards.
Annual admissions for children and young people, aged five to 18 with mental health issues, increased by 65% in a decade — from 24,198 in 2012 to 39,925 in 2022, according to the study. More than half (53.4%) were due to self-harm. The figure of 39,925 patients was among 342,511 people in that age bracket who were admitted to hospital for any cause in 2021/22.
The rise in mental health admissions was particularly high in girls aged 11 to 15, climbing from 9,901 to 19,349 — an increase of 112.8%, said researchers.
“Steep relative increases” among children aged five to 10 and “striking rates of self-harm in females” were also highlighted by the analysis. And the number of admissions for eating disorders jumped from 478 to 2,938.
Los Angeles Schools Reopen to Relief, Though Some Parents Worry About Toxins
More Los Angeles-area schools reopened on Thursday for the first time since wildfires swept the region this month and forced officials to shutter buildings in the areas hit by fires.
In the Pasadena Unified School District, six campuses reopened, out of more than two dozen that had been closed since the fire. Roughly two-thirds of the district’s 14,000 students and about half of its roughly 3,000 staff members live in areas that were under evacuation or warnings.
One of the schools was Willard Elementary School in Pasadena, where multiple students and staff members lost their homes, said the principal, Maricela Brambila.
